Life on the Water with a Spaniel

Life on a narrowboat offers benefits and rhythms like nothing else. Quiet moorings on the towpath, long stretches of countryside enjoyed at slower than walking pace, and the gentle sway of life aboard. For many boaters, sharing that rich life with a dog makes that life a little sweeter. Jo and Michael, who live aboard full time on their narrowboat Perseverance, discovered exactly that when they adopted their boat dog, George, a beautiful English Springer Spaniel, whose personality is as big as the waterways they explore together.

Like many prospective adopters living afloat, Jo and Michael initially struggled to find a rescue willing to rehome a dog to liveaboards. The ironic lack of a garden was one of the stumbling blocks, despite the fact that boat dogs arguably have access to the entire English and Welsh ‘gardens’ along more than 2,000 miles of navigable waterways.

‘We didn’t realise that so many rescues would be so against rehoming onto a boat. It was really disheartening and quite upsetting that we were turned down for that reason because we didn’t tick the box of having our own garden.’

Fortunately, English Springer Spaniel Welfare took the time to understand the realities of life afloat and quickly recognised that a narrowboat could offer a wonderful home for the right dog.

Jo reflected, ‘We didn’t specifically want a spaniel—we just wanted to give a home to any dog who needed one. We found that lots of rescues did not want to re-home a dog onto a boat, but ESSW were open to this and so that kind of made our choice for us.’

A home visit to Perseverance confirmed the match, and soon after, George was on his way to life on the cut. Their first meeting in a country park was full of youthful energy: George was more interested in sprinting around than bonding, but the charity approved the adoption, and he settled into his new floating home that very day.

It takes time for any rescue dog to feel secure, but George didn’t take long to warm up to his new family.

‘A few nights after he came home, he was snuggling up on the sofa with us and licking our faces. It did take a few weeks for us to feel comfortable with his recall to trust him off the lead. He also needed a few weeks to understand that he was home for good and he wasn’t going to be sent away again.’

George didn’t need any specific training to live aboard. Jo explained, ‘He needs a lot of exercise and engagement, but boat life is wonderful for this as he has had miles of towpaths to explore.’

Towpaths offer natural exercise for dogs and their owners, with new smells at every mooring and endless stimulation around each bend. Many single-handed boaters find the companionship of a dog invaluable. For newcomers like Michael—who had only just moved to the UK and didn’t know much about English Springer Spaniels—George’s quirks quickly won him over. And George certainly has quirks.

‘George is obsessed with his tennis ball, and he is very inquisitive and very focused on his human,’ Jo said. ‘Spaniels are very good at manipulating their humans,’ she added.

There wasn’t much information about George’s early life, but what they learned was fascinating.

‘We know someone paid a lot of money for him when he was a puppy… Other than that, we really only knew his recent history from his time in foster. He did come with a docked tail, so we have always wondered if he was a failed working dog.’

His early days onboard were filled with learning curves. He initially believed chasing ducks was a worthwhile hobby—until he realised they could fly. And like many boat dogs, he sometimes misjudged which side of the boat leads to the towpath.

‘George becomes used to scrambling out of the front door and leaping off the side he last remembers the towpath to be on. Unfortunately, sometimes we’ve moved the boat, so he needs a very robust harness with good handles to be lifted by, out of the water, when sopping wet, when he has leapt off the wrong side.’

As far as spaniels go, Jo believes they make excellent boat dogs—provided they’re not afraid of water. George has ended up soaked more than a few times over the years, and they must watch him carefully, especially since he has been known to launch himself from the boat while it’s moving. But they’ve learned his preferences well.

‘He prefers to be on the stern when cruising and on the lock side through locks. He has turned out to be pretty much the perfect boat dog.’

Jo also offered some words of caution for potential boat-dog owners. Continuous cruisers must move from most moorings every two weeks, which means a constantly changing environment. And hot summer days can be challenging.

‘The boat can get extremely hot in the summertime and unless you can moor in the shade it can be quite a challenge to keep your pet cool and hydrated on these days.’

For anyone considering a spaniel, Jo is enthusiastic—but realistic.

‘If you have the time and capacity to offer lots of walks and exercise and stimulation, Springers have an incredible amount of energy even into relatively old age. So it’s best to understand you’ll need to spend a considerable amount of time walking them and throwing for them if they are as ball-obsessed as George.’

Jo and Michael document their journeys on their YouTube channel Minimal List, where George displays his personality.

‘George is the star of the show. I think his favourite thing about being on YouTube is that so many viewers have gifted him balls and treats over the years. He doesn’t mind being on camera although he doesn’t follow direction too well.’

Dogs bring a special layer of companionship and joy to many lives on the cut—and on land. Through perseverance (pun very much intended), Jo and Michael found the perfect dog for their lifestyle. They hope rescues will become more open to the idea of adopting dogs to liveaboards.

‘We would love for more rescues to be open to re-homing onto boats. They are simply not aware how good a life the towpath offers for an active dog.’

If you’d like to see George aboard, you can find him on Minimal List. You can also learn more about English Springer Spaniel Welfare by following the link.

Photos supplied by and used with permission of Jo & Michael.

This article was originally posted on Robin's Substack on 29 December 2025 - you can find a link below.